Adopt a grave to honor a soldier

[GFW]

Dear all,

Some of you can not come to France to honor a soldier who served with the 1st battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, in which my Grandfather served. 
He was killed in action during the Battle of Broodseinde (3rd Ypres), his body was not found. 

, Lens 
I would like to adopt a grave of a 1st Bat / Royal Warwickshire Regiment soldier buried near Lille or Ypres in order to honor him as I could honor my Grandfather's grave if exist.

 

Let me known, by PM,  if interested.

 

Pierre.

[MelPack]

Hello Pierre

 

If you look at the CWGC, your grandfather was one of only six soldiers (5 soldiers &1 officer) killed with the 1st Battalion, Royal Warks on 5 October 1917.

 

Of this six only two have known graves:

Pte Frederick  Thomas Parkhouse  buried at Dozinghem who clearly died of wounds (Dozinghem was one of the burial grounds used by  a concentration of Casualy Clearing Stations)

https://www.cwgc.org/search-for-war-dead/casualty/153613/

 

The other is Pte H Smith buried at Poelcapelle British Cemetery:

https://www.cwgc.org/search-for-war-dead/casualty/492109/

He is buried at Plot 20 Row B Grave 10.

 

If you look at the Concentration of Graves Burial (COG-BR) report on the same page you will find that the body of this soldier was recovered from the battlefield in November 1919 and identified by his disc. His remains were recovered at V.13.A.6.1

 

On the same page, you will find that two unidentified Royal Warwickshire soldiers were recovered at the same time from V.13.A.5.6 and V.13.A.5.7 buried at Plot 20 Row B Graves 5 & 8 respectively.

 

It is possible that either one of these could be your grandfather. Why not adopt one, both or all three of these graves?

[GFW]

Hello MelPack,

Many many thanks for these information. 

I suppose that V.13.A... are points on a map. Which is it ? Near 19 meter Hill ? 

Can you explain me ?

Thanks

[KevinBattle]

Just to comment that perhaps the British Army did have a sense of humour in posting Private GF Warwick to the Warwickshires!

[GFW]

Hi Mel,

Please, see attched file.

What do you thoink about my work ?

Correct or not correct ?

Thanks,

Pierre

Location of Remains.pdf

[GFW]

Hi Kevin,

I don't think British Army had Sense of Humour.

Grandpa was formely a RE Dispatch Rider. He was in Artois and fell in love with my French Grand Mother. They had a Baby, the mother of my Wigfe. Then Grandpa was transferred in the Warwicks stationned in the village. We do not know the reasons for this mutation but we guess a little. British Army was perhaps very puritanical in this distant time.

Not really funny, finally !

I do not blame you, you could not know!

Best wishes

Pierre

[Phil Evans]

Hello Pierre,

 

Mel asked me to have a look at your map. You have found 20.V.13.a with no problems. However, everyone, bar the British, seems to work on the system of Northings first, followed by Eastings. We like to be different and do it the other way round. Your final points therefore need a bit of adjustment.

 

Below I have attached a Google Earth overlay, which hopefully I have got right, with the three original burial locations marked. I have left the modern roads on it and set the transparency so that you can orientate yourself at that scale.

 

Phil

[GFW]

Dear Phil, 

 

I thank for your precious help. You have a good tool, I use only my poor and old head 

 

Next wednesday, we will go to Ypres for a burial ceremony of a 1^ST RWR Officer whose boby was refound in 2016.

 

We will go in this area. Perhaps, our Grandpa was found at this location but he is an Unknow British Soldiers who is died on 5th october 1917, his name is at Tyne Cot Memorial. .

 

We have found Three Unknowh British Soldier  on CWGC website and  we have only Two graves in Poelcappelle Cemetery.

 

So we have to continue. I'll contact CWGC to knoW if they have documents ( COG-BR FROM others dates) about exhumations of U.B.S around this B20.V13.a. area. 

 

A last chance for us.

 

Thank you for all.

 

Kind regards

 

Pierre

[GFW]

Dear Mel, 

 

I thank for having asked Phil help. It's nice to you.

 

We have found Three Unknowh British Soldier  on CWGC website and  we have only Two graves in Poelcappelle Cemetery.

 

Georege was a Dispath Rider. So, perhaps he was not with the others soldiers (4) who were killed by a german Machine Gun

 

So we have to continue. I'll contact CWGC to knoW if they have documents ( COG-BR FROM others dates) about exhumations of U.B.S around this B20.V13.a. or b20.U18.c area. 

 

A last chance for us.

 

Thank you for precious help.

 

Kind regards

 

Pierre

[MelPack]

Hello Pierre

 

I have checked through the COG-BR for Poelcapelle and there were a further four recoveries from V.13.a in January 1920 - two at V.13.a.6.2. and two at V.13.a.6.7.

 

Unfortunately, all four are only classified as UBS because no regimental insignia were recovered with the remains:

 

 

[MBrockway]

15 hours ago, Phil Evans said:

Hello Pierre,

 

Mel asked me to have a look at your map. You have found 20.V.13.a with no problems. However, everyone, bar the British, seems to work on the system of Northings first, followed by Eastings. We like to be different and do it the other way round. Your final points therefore need a bit of adjustment.

 

Below I have attached a Google Earth overlay, which hopefully I have got right, with the three original burial locations marked. I have left the modern roads on it and set the transparency so that you can orientate yourself at that scale.

 

Phil

 

It is probably worth making it clear that these trench map references indicate the south west corner of a 50 x 50 yard square, not an exact point.

 

Trench ref 20.V.13.A.5.6, for example plots like this ...

While 20.V.13.A.5.7 would be a similar square immediately north of this one.

 

Phil will be very well aware of this, but the 'pushpin' icons could mislead the OP.

 

This tool on the Muninn Project is very useful:

http://rdf.muninn-project.org/TrenchCoordinates.html?q=20.V.13.a.5.6

 

 

Mark

[James47]

On 12/04/2018 at 20:31, GFW said:

Dear Mel, 

 

I thank for having asked Phil help. It's nice to you.

 

We have found Three Unknowh British Soldier  on CWGC website and  we have only Two graves in Poelcappelle Cemetery.

 

Georege was a Dispath Rider. So, perhaps he was not with the others soldiers (4) who were killed by a german Machine Gun

 

So we have to continue. I'll contact CWGC to knoW if they have documents ( COG-BR FROM others dates) about exhumations of U.B.S around this B20.V13.a. or b20.U18.c area. 

 

A last chance for us.

 

Thank you for precious help.

 

Kind regards

 

Pierre

I understand from Mel that your grandfather served in WW1, and that you have done research on WW1?  I'm writing a novel involving a Scottish WW1 machine gunner KIA near Arras who meets a convent nurse in a convent serving as a field hospital near the front line trenches, so I'm curious to know if such a convent-scenario could have happened.  I don't want to pursue it if it would be a preposterous assumption.